As parents, you are permanently role-modelling acceptable behaviours to your kids. You’re in a unique position: your actions and role-modelling are two of the most powerful influences in their lives. If you wish for them to grow up happy, healthy, and well-informed about good lifestyle habits, then it’s time to review and reflect upon what you are currently unconsciously teaching them. It’s no longer just about ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ You need to be doing the doing too.
Parents don’t need to be elite athletes or high performers to impact their child’s desire to engage in regular physical activity. It’s the simple act of planning and embarking upon regular exercise that is key here – from walking the dog to fixing up the deck, from picking rocks up out of the paddock to attending bootcamp sessions – it’s all physical activity. And all of these will be deemed normal ways of living when it’s viewed by the small people in your household.
Role-modelling is super powerful in itself, but is even more influential when it is backed up with parental facilitation, encouragement, and involvement in the child’s physical activity. Parents need to provide opportunities for their kids to be active in a fun and stimulating environment, praise and encourage these behaviours, and be involved in them too.
So, how can we create opportunities to exercise as a family? 
- Explore natures playground – for example, visit a local beach, collect sea shells, and have races along the sand.
- Treasure hunts & Hide and Seek.
- Kick a ball.
- Go to the park. Be a monkey yourself. Your energy will become their energy.
- Buy some basic props. Skipping ropes and hoola hoops provide hours of entertainment.
- Household jobs. Give them a couple each. It’s a race to see who can do the best quality job in the best time.
- For birthday parties do something active – rock wall climbing or ten pin bowling.
- Let the kids make up their own game.
- Walk/ride to school and back. Or dawdle and collect stones. Either way, it’s more active than driving the car.
The opportunities to exercise as a family are endless. Get involved in their activity and their health. And let them partake in the generational changes to wish to see in our younger population.
- Corinne Austin
- Movement and Wellness Motivator
- corinne@fitfixnz.co.nz
